70% of students attend A, B, or C schools – up from 20% in 2005.*

New Orleans has moved up in the state rankings from 67th to 38th.

The District Performance Score (DPS) is the most comprehensive measurement of school and student performance. It includes all students, all tests, and all grade levels. The DPS for New Orleans includes all RSD and OPSB schools, both charter and direct-run.

New Orleans has a combined District Performance Score of 83.4 and received a letter grade of C.* We are now just 1.6 points shy of a B, and we are rapidly moving up in the state rankings.

New Orleans District Rank Over Time

2005

67th out of 68 districts – second to last

2012

51st out of 69 districts – in the bottom third

2013

38th out of 69 districts – close to the middle

Both OPSB and RSD deserve congratulations:

OPSB would be ranked #2 in the state with a DPS of 108.2 and a grade of A.

RSD-New Orleans is no longer failing! It received a DPS of 71.9 and a grade of C, and it would be ranked 58th out of 69 districts.

We have shown robust improvement on the ACT.

The state also released ACT results. This year, Louisiana became one of 9 states to require all high school graduates take the ACT, and the increased participation caused Louisiana’s score to go down from 20.3 to 19.5.

The 2013 citywide (RSD + OPSB) composite ACT score is 18.1, compared to the state score of 19.5 and the national average of 20.9.

OPSB’s composite is 19.7, and RSD’s is 16.3.

Comparing to prior ACT performance

In 2005, the composite ACT score for Orleans Parish was 17.0. Today it is 18.1, so we know we have improved.

This improvement is understated, however, because in 2005 not all juniors and seniors had to take the ACT. What might our real growth be on an “apples to apples” basis? There are two ways to estimate it.

The first way is to use a 2004 statewide equating study from the Louisiana Department of Education that compared performance on the Graduation Exit Exam (GEE) to performance on the ACT. The study showed a strong correlation between how a student scored on the GEE with how they would perform on the ACT.

Using New Orleans’ average performance on the GEE in 2005 (a tad higher than Approaching Basic), we can estimate that New Orleans would have had an ACT score between 16 and 16.5 if all juniors and seniors had been required to take the test.

The second way is to compare New Orleans performance relative to the other districts that were also very low performing in 2005.

Comparing ACT Results

2005 DPS Rank

Parish

2013 ACT Score

68

St. Helena

15.6

67

New Orleans

18.1

66

Madison

15.3

65

East Feliciana

16.5

64

City of Baker

16.3

The four other parishes average around a 16 ACT, and New Orleans (OPSB + RSD) now outperforms them all with an 18.1 ACT.

New Orleans has likely seen close to a 2 point gain on the ACT since 2005 – a HUGE improvement in a test where nationally scores have not increased since 2005.

We have more high performing, high poverty schools
than anywhere else in Louisiana.

It is incredibly hard work to have high performing schools with very high percentages of poor students. Statewide, there were 341 open-enrollment schools that had 90% or more of their students receiving free or reduced lunch. Only 22 received a letter grade of A or B. Ten of these schools – almost half – are in New Orleans.

Special shout-out to these 10 high performing, high poverty schools.They are doing a fabulous job!

High Performing, High Poverty Schools

2013Grade

% Free or Reduced Lunch

Arthur Ashe Charter School

B

96%

Einstein Charter School

B

93%

John Dibert Community School

B

94%

KIPP Central City Academy

B

98%

KIPP McDonogh 15 School for Creative Arts

B

96%

Lagniappe Academy of New Orleans

B

97%

Mahalia Jackson Elementary School

B

95%

Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Tech

B

98%

Sci Academy

B

93%

Sophie B. Wright Learning Academy

B

96%

School Performance Scores – The Details

Here is the breakdown of New Orleans schools by letter grade and SPS score.*

New Orleans Schools

Grade

SPS Range*

# of Schools

% of Total Enrollment

A

100-150

6

12%

B

85-99.9

18

25%

C

70-84.9

25

33%

D

50-69.9

19

17%

F

Below 50

9

5%

No SPS

11

8%

TOTAL

88

Congratulations to these 24 high performing A and B schools.

High Performing Schools

2013 SPS

2013 Grade

Benjamin Franklin High School

138.5

A

Lusher Charter School

132.6

A

Lake Forest Elementary Charter School

125.3

A

Edward Hynes Charter School

107

A

Audubon Charter School

106.4

A

International School of Louisiana

105.3

A

KIPP Central City Academy

96.9

B

Benjamin Franklin Elem. Math and Science

96.1

B

Einstein Charter School

95.4

B

Warren Easton Senior High School

95.3

B

Alice M. Harte Elementary Charter School

94.2

B

Eleanor McMain Secondary School

94.2

B

Edna Karr High School

93.8

B

Martin Behrman Elementary School

92.1

B

Arthur Ashe Charter School

90.2

B

KIPP McDonogh 15 School for the Creative Arts

89.9

B

Sci Academy

88.6

B

Sophie B. Wright Learning Academy

88.5

B

Mahalia Jackson Elementary School

88.1

B

Mary Bethune Elementary Literature/Technology

88.1

B

John Dibert Community School

87.8

B

O. Perry Walker Senior High School

85.7

B

New Orleans Military/Maritime Academy

85.2

B

Lagniappe Academy of New Orleans

85

B

School Growth

This year schools earned bonus points if they demonstrated significant academic growth with their lowest performing students – students identified as non-proficient (performing below grade level).

Schools could earn up to 10 bonus points if they made significant progress with their lowest performing students. We know many of our students enter school already behind. These schools are doing a great job helping their students catch up.

Enrollment: Educate Now! used self-reported enrollment numbers to estimate the percent of students in failing schools. The official 10/1 enrollment count will be released later this year. Unless stated otherwise, 2013 schools include OPSB and RSD, both charter and direct run, as well as Type 2 charters.

T Rated Schools: In 2013, there are 8 schools that received an SPS but were too new to receive a letter grade. These schools were given a “T” by the state, but for the purpose of this analysis, Educate Now! assigned unofficial letter grades based on their SPS. This added 4 F schools, 2 D schools and 2 C schools to our count.

Comparing 2005 to 2013: In 2005, schools were given stars (1 to 5) not letter grades. For the purpose of comparison, Educate Now! equated 4 and 5 stars with an A, 3 stars with a B, 2 stars with a C, 1 star with a D, and the 2005 rating “Academically Unacceptable” with an F. No SPS: This year, there are 11 schools with no SPS. They were either new charters (2), schools that were recently transitioned to charters or given new charter operators (5), or schools that had insufficient testers for an SPS (4). New SPS Scale: In 2013, Louisiana recalibrated the school grading scale from a 200+ point range to a 150 point range to better align with a typical A through F grading scale. This year represents a new baseline for both SPS and DPS calculations.